


Heart of a Hero

by AetherSprite (AranthianPrincess)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Spoilers, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14165370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AranthianPrincess/pseuds/AetherSprite
Summary: Steve and Tony argue, learn a little more about each other, then they make up.





	Heart of a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to the Cap-IM celebration of MCU's tenth anniversary. I got _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ so I decided to do the “Steve and Tony have to share a room at the Barton farmhouse” missing scene fic that was pretty popular immediately after the movie released. I always wanted to do one and now I have the perfect excuse.
> 
> Happy Stony and MCU Anniversary! Here's to at least another decade more!
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** The first scene is lifted directly out of _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ and, while the last scene was in the movie, it is strictly a broad strokes re-imagining of what I can remember from that scene.

Tony went with Steve out into the yard to help chop firewood. Under normal, non-on-the-run-from-very-bad-bad-guy circumstances, he would have thought menial chores would annoy him at best. Now it's a chance to take out some frustration. He brought the ax down on the first of many logs. It split with a satisfying crack.

“Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?” Tony asked Steve casually.

“Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things,” Steve replied. Tony could hear the annoyance in his voice and it immediately put him on the defensive. “I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception.”

“Yeah, give him time. We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him.”

Steve grabs a log from his much larger pile. “Earth's mightiest heroes. They pulled us apart like cotton candy.”

“It seems like you walked away alright.”

Tony couldn't help the accusation in his tone. For someone who didn't like his teammates keeping secrets, he sure clammed up when it came to revealing his own. And now that he knew the Maximoff kid could screw with their heads, he knew she must have been the one to put that vision in his head that prompted him to put a rush on the Ultron project. Knowing how much that brief vision affected him made it all the more frustrating that Steve remained seemingly unaffected.

“Is that a problem?” Steve demanded, aggression rising in his stance and tone in response to Tony's needling. Tony didn't care.

“I don't trust a guy without a dark side,” Tony said, chopping another log in half. The splitting crack was much less satisfying this time. “Call me old-fashioned.”

“Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet.”

Tony wanted to scoff at that, but settled for changing the subject. He didn't believe Captain America had a dark side, but even he didn't feel like finding out for sure without his armor nearby enough to help him.

“You know Ultron's trying to tear us apart, right?”

“Well, I guess you'd know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question,” Steve said, splitting another log in half.

Tony must have annoyed him more than he'd thought if Steve was attacking him back. This he could defend, though. Whatever the results, Tony's intentions had been good.

“Banner and I were doing research,” he said.

“That would affect the team,” Steve pointed out.

“That would _end_ the team,” Tony said. “Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the why we fight? So we can end the fight? So we can go home?”

They all wanted to go home at the end of the day, even Tony. Barton must really want to go home. He had a wife and kids to take care of. What would he, or any member of the team, tell them if Barton died in the line of duty? Tony didn't want that responsibility. He didn't want to see the silent tears streak down Laura's cheeks and the loud crying from his young children who can't understand why their father isn't coming home.

Steve had grabbed his next log and was moving to set it on the stump he was using, but it never made it. Instead, Steve ripped it apart with his bare hands, anger set in the tense lines of his shoulders and expression.

“Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.”

It hurt, how close to home that hit. Steve had a point, a good one, but Tony had a good point too. He was trying to protect them! Why couldn't Steve see that? Tony took a breath to argue Steve's point, but Laura Barton came up behind him before he could think of a decent retort.

“I'm sorry. Mr. Stark. Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you might–”

“Yeah,” Tony interrupted. “I'll take a look at it.”

He shared a significant look with Steve. This discussion wasn't over yet and they both knew it. They needed a break from each other. It was lucky Laura had interrupted just then or they might have had a serious fight on their hands. Or was it luck? Had Laura intervened on purpose? She hadn't been anywhere near Clint to ask him about Tony's willingness to play mechanic. It didn't matter. Tony wasn't passing up this opportunity to get a little space from Steve.

He turned and headed toward the barn. Tossing off a casual “Don't take from my pile.” over his shoulder. That was the last he saw of Steve all afternoon. By the time he returned from talking with a very-much-not-dead Nick Fury, Steve had finished his pile of logs, leaving Tony's pile untouched. Tony finished in the next hour or so, but the physical labor had lost it's anger-relieving shine.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When Tony finally finished, he returned to the house exhausted emotionally and physically. Barton offered him something to eat, but Tony declined. He just wanted to go to bed. That's when Barton dropped the bomb on him.

“We don't have enough rooms for each of you, so you'll have to share. Cap's already settling in,” Clint told him. Tony stared.

“I'm sharing with Steve?”

“Yeah. That gonna be a problem?”

To Tony, it sounded like a challenge, but that must just be because of his recent argument with Steve. Clint couldn't know about that. Could he?

“No. It's not a problem,” Tony said. “Which room?”

“Up the stairs. Third door on the right. Steve can show you where the bathroom and everything else is.”

“Thanks.”

Tony headed up the stairs, finding the indicated room easily. He paused at the door, hand on the handle. He didn't feel like facing Steve again just yet, but, on the other hand, he needed sleep. Sighing, Tony resigned himself to the inevitable and pushed open the door. Steve stood by the only bed in the room, looking up from the stack of blankets and a pillow when Tony entered the room.

“Look, I don't feel like arguing anymore tonight. Let's take a break for tonight and we can pick it up again in the morning,” Tony said before Steve could open his mouth.

He could see Steve's mouth tighten with annoyance, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he rested his hands on the pile he'd gathered on the bed.

“Fine. You can have the bed. I'll take the floor.”

“I thought I said I didn't feel like arguing,” Tony said, stepping up to the bed and trying to pull the stack of blankets away from Steve.

They ended up in a silent tug-of-war, glaring daggers at each other.

“I'm not going to be the one who made Captain America sleep on the floor,” Tony said.

“You're not making me. I'm offering,” Steve shot back.

“That's not how everyone else will see it.”

“Why do you care what everyone else thinks? You never do otherwise,” Steve said. “Besides, I've slept in worse conditions during the war.”

Tony allowed the challenging sneer on his face. “So have I. Slumped over a work bench after a seventy-two hour marathon in the workshop is no walk in the park. Especially the morning after. And I've done it hung over.”

“That's nothing compared to sleeping in the middle of a war zone,” Steve said.

Tony could admire the way Steve easily and immediately rose to the challenge. He really was as stubborn as the stories said. Tony could fall in love with someone like that, but right now, it was annoying. Still, it gave him an idea.

He allowed his grin to turn flirtatious. His hand caressed Steve's arm, just the faintest brush of his fingers. Tony saw the shiver run through Steve's body and the sudden blush on his cheeks. His wide eyes stared in confusion at Tony.

“Such gallantry, my knight in shining armor,” Tony said.

He allowed his eyes to go soft and looked at Steve with adoration only partially faked. Tony drew on his childhood dreams of Captain America to give his act a genuine feel. Steve blushed even more furiously and loosened his grip on the blankets. While Steve's attention was elsewhere, Tony snatched the contested pile out of his hands with a triumphant grin.

“Tony?” Steve choked out.

Tony spread the thicker blanket on the floor, dropping the pillow at one end. He dropped to the floor with less grace than normal and flared the other blanket out over him. Steve just stared.

“I win. Enjoy the bed, Cap. Sweet dreams.”

He was sure Steve was still gaping at him, but Tony ignored it. Pulling the blanket to his chin, Tony laid down and turned his back to Steve. Eventually, Steve turned out the lights, plunging them into darkness. Sometime after, Tony slid into a fitful sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony wandered through a battlefield. Somewhere along the way he'd lost his helmet, but the rest of the suit, though banged up, seemed to be functioning.

There were so many dead. Everywhere he looked another blank face stared accusingly back at him. These were all the people he'd failed to save. Then he came to the worst of it. The damage here was ten times worse. This must have been where the thick of the fight had been. A shock of red hair confirmed his hypothesis.

Natasha lay, dead, unblinking gaze on the red sky, body broken over some rubble. Clint lay nearby. His bow was broken, but he'd hung onto the pieces with his dying breath. How was Tony going to break this news to his wife and kids? A glint of sunlight on metal drew Tony's attention to Thor. Blood matted his golden hair. It covered half his face, but not enough to hide that his eye was missing. Mjolnir lay at his side, never to be moved again. Even the Hulk lay in a giant, green heap not far from his compatriots. Tony couldn't tell what had killed him, but whatever it was had torn a massive hole in his side. It made Tony want to vomit, but he kept it down, searching frantically for the last Avenger.

Something grabbed his ankle, startling Tony. He tried to move away, charging and aiming his repulsors at the same time, but the grip was too strong. Then he saw what had grabbed him, or, more accurately, who had grabbed him.

“Steve,” Tony whispered.

Steve ignored the desperation and relief in Tony's voice. He was covered in blood and his costume was torn to pieces. The shield lay several feet away, the formerly shining metal dulled. None of this seemed to matter to Steve, who kept his intense gaze focused on Tony. Tony knelt next to Steve and opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Steve spoke first.

“This is your fault. All of it,” Steve said before his body went limp and Tony had to watch the life vanish from his eyes.

“Steve, no,” Tony said, his throat closing up. Then he was screaming with everything he had. “NO!”

Tony came awake suddenly, gasping for breath while trying not to be loud about it. It was only a dream, but the shout still echoed in his ears. He was at Barton's house in the middle of nowhere. No one was dead and Captain America was sound asleep in the bed just feet away. Tony was certainly not responsible for any of their deaths.

The fear that he would be didn't go away though. He debated whether he should get up and forget getting anymore sleep tonight or stay where he was in case Steve heard him and started asking difficult questions. A rustling from across the room told him he was too late.

“Tony?” Steve called sleepily.

Maybe if Tony stayed quiet Steve would just assume he'd imagined whatever he heard and go back to sleep. Then Tony wouldn't have to come up with a feasible excuse for his wakefulness. More rustling and Steve was calling his name again, more firmly this time. Tony quickly spoke up, hoping to deter him.

“I'm fine. Go back to sleep,” Tony said, sitting up and trying to inject confidence into his voice.

Again, he was too late. Steve was already crouching next to him and frowning in that responsible-team-leader way he had. Tony tried pasting a wide smile on his face and was drawing breath to make some teasing, and possibly innuendo-heavy, remark, but Steve beat him to the punch.

“Are you alright, Tony? You don't look so good,” Steve said, resting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony shook him off with a casual shake of his head and another grin, “What are you talking about, Cap? I'm fine.”

“You're pale and shaking,” Steve pointed out.

Tony took exception to that. Maybe he was pale, but that must be because there was a draft, and he was never shaky, even while drunk.

“I am not,” Tony insisted.

“Yes, you are,” Steve said. “You look scared. What is it?”

Tony pressed his lips together, settling in for a stubbornness face off. When Tony didn't answer, Steve sighed.

“You can tell me, Tony. I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me too. Don't you think all the secrets have taken enough of a toll on us?”

Tony slumped, the fight going out of him, and told Steve all about his dream.

“I've been having it regularly since we found Loki's scepter,” Tony admitted. “It's why I finished Ultron.”

“Tony, what were you thinking?”

“I already told you. I was trying to end the fight,” Tony said. “I was trying to protect you.”

He couldn't resist adding the last part, but quietly enough he hoped Steve wouldn't hear him. If Steve did, he didn't let on. That was probably a good thing since even Tony didn't know who he meant by 'you.' If he meant the team in general or Steve specifically.

“Tony, if any of us dies, it won't be your fault,” Steve said.

“You can't know that.”

“Yes, I can. We haven't known each other very long, and spent even less time in each other's company, but I think I'm a good enough judge of character to know you're the kind of man who does everything he can to protect those he cares about.”

“That's nice of you, Cap, but, like you said, we haven't known each other long. You can't possibly know all that for sure,” Tony said. “I don't know where you got that idea in the first place.”

Tony could barely see the little smirk curve Steve's lips.

“Oh, nothing major, but I seem to recall a certain Iron Man taking a one-way flight with a nuke through an alien portal and saving all of New York.”

“What are you saying?”

Steve's smirk softened into a smile, “I'm saying you have the heart of a hero, Tony, even if you go overboard on occasion.”

“Name one time when I went overboard,” Tony demanded, an answering grin on his face.

“Do you really need me to answer that?”

The mood turns somber. Tony knows Steve is thinking the same thing he is. Ultron was definitely Tony going overboard. Whatever kind words Steve uses to describe him, Tony will never truly measure up.

“For what it's worth, Tony, I understand why you did it,” Steve said, watching with sad eyes as Tony jerks his head up to stare, wide-eyed, at him. “I just wish you'd learn to talk to us first. We're your team. We are here for you, no matter what you think.”

“Steve, I– I don't understand,” Tony said.

If possible, Steve looked even sadder at that.

“I know you don't, but I hope you will someday. In the meantime, let's get some sleep.”

“You go ahead,” Tony said, still feeling confused and fearing a repeat of his nightmare. “I don't think I'm getting any more sleep tonight.”

“Yes, you are,” Steve said, standing up and gesturing for Tony to follow suit. “You're sharing the bed with me. I promise to keep the nightmares away.”

“Um, I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Either you come willingly or I'll toss you over my shoulder and make you go to bed,” Steve threatened, commanding voice and all.

Tony could tell Steve meant business by the way he was standing, using his Captain-America-means-business stance. Steve's stubbornness had kicked in. Normally, Tony would match him for stubbornness, but Steve's threat to toss him over his shoulder was not only very real, but he could actually back it up. There was nothing Tony could do about it if Steve got physical. He'd end up in that bed with Steve whether he liked it or not. Better to go with his dignity still mostly intact.

“Well, when you put it that way, I don't really have much of a choice. Do I?”

“Not in the least,” Steve said, grinning.

He held out a hand to help pull Tony to his feet, which Tony accepted. They situated themselves in the bed, which really was big enough to hold them both comfortably and wasn't nearly as awkward as Tony had feared. They ended up laying back-to-back, but the warmth radiating off Steve comforted him.

“Good night, Tony,” Steve said. “Sleep well.”

“Night, Steve,” Tony replied. “And thank you.”

Tony didn't know what he was thanking Steve for and Steve didn't ask. They easily drifted off, Tony's sleep undisturbed by nightmares for the rest of the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ultron was finally gone and the Avengers had a lower-profile facility in upstate New York. Steve was escorting Tony to his car. Walking out of that building felt like wrenching his heart out of his chest and leaving it behind. Bruce was gone, vanished to who knew where. Thor had gone back to Asgard. Even Clint had retired to be with his family. Now Tony was leaving the Avengers behind.

“I'm retiring, Steve,” Tony said once they were outside. “It's time.”

Steve looked at him with sad eyes.

“I'll miss you, Tony,” he said. “But why?”

Tony didn't answer for several minutes, trying to order his thoughts into a coherent, and believable, explanation. Honestly, he didn't want to leave, but the Avengers would be better off without him.

“I'm getting a little old for it, don't you think? Soon I'll be more a liability than an asset.”

“I don't believe that for a second,” Steve said instantly.

Tony gave him a startled look. “What?”

“I don't think you could ever be a liability, even as an old man,” Steve said with a laugh. “And you're not even that old yet! What's the real reason?”

“You've got an armored Avenger, Cap. You don't need me anymore.”

“Not true. Having experienced members on the team is always beneficial. You'll always be an Avenger, Tony. That will never change.”

Tony laughed. “Alright, Cap. Keep me on your speed dial. If you need me, I'll come flying.”

“I know you would,” Steve said with a soft smile.

Tony continues on when Steve stops, halfway to his car before Steve calls to him. He turns back around to see Steve with his serious face on.

“You know the same applies to you, right?” Steve said. “If you need us, we're only a quick call away.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

Tony turns back around and makes it to his car, hand on the door handle, before Steve stops him again. This time he merely looks over his shoulder at Steve, who is staring intently at him.

“Please don't go,” Steve said.

“What?”

“I don't want you to go,” Steve clarified, striding up to him confidently. “Stay.”

Steve trailed his fingers lightly up Tony's arm, making him shiver. The significance of the action isn't lost on him. Tony remembers doing this to Steve back at Barton's farm to win their argument over who got the bed. He did not expect to end up on the receiving end of it several days later.

“Cap? What are you doing?”

A furious blush spread across Steve's cheeks and he looked away, biting his bottom lip. The gesture made something twist in his chest. Steve may be a super soldier now, but he still retained that shyness. Standing up to bullies was no problem. The second he was interested in someone, though, out came the blush.

“Please, Tony? Stay with me?” Steve said quietly.

He trailed his fingers back down Tony's arm, from his elbow to his wrist, until he could hold his hand. Steve squeezed Tony's fingers gently and leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. Tony couldn't tell if that was intentional or Steve couldn't decide if he should aim for his cheek or his mouth.

Still, the kiss had the desired effect. It made Tony's body grow hot and eager. He turned his head just as Steve was pulling away and captured his lips in a real kiss. Steve made a surprised sound, but kissed him back. When they finally parted, Steve had his other arm wrapped around Tony's waist and Tony had hooked his arm around Steve's neck. Steve smiled at him. Tony grinned back, eyes bright with joy.

“Well, when you put it like that, how could I refuse?”


End file.
